Amos 7 · Verse 4

Amos 7:4

Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me: and, behold, the Lord God called to contend by fire, and it devoured the great deep, and did eat up a part.
Amos 7:4, King James Version

Amos 7:4 in other translations

BSBThis is what the Lord GOD showed me: The Lord GOD was calling for judgment by fire. It consumed the great deep and devoured the land.
WEBThus the Lord GOD showed me: behold, the Lord GOD called for judgment by fire; and it dried up the great deep, and would have devoured the land.
ASVThus the Lord Jehovah showed me: and, behold, the Lord Jehovah called to contend by fire; and it devoured the great deep, and would have eaten up the land.
YLTThus hath the Lord Jehovah shewed me, and lo, the Lord Jehovah is calling to contend by fire, and it consumeth the great deep, yea, it hath consumed the portion, and I say:
DARBYThus did the Lord Jehovah shew unto me; and behold, the Lord Jehovah called to contend by fire; and it devoured the great deep, and ate up the inheritance.
BBEThis is what the Lord let me see: and I saw that the Lord God sent for a great fire to be the instrument of his punishment; and, after burning up the great deep, it was about to put an end to the Lord's heritage.
WebsterThus hath the Lord GOD shown to me: and behold, the Lord GOD called to contend by fire, and it devoured the great deep, and did eat up a part.

What does Amos 7:4 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
4. called to contend--that is, with Israel judicially (Job 9:3; Is 66:16; Eze 38:22). He ordered to come at His call the infliction of punishment by "fire" on Israel, that is, drought (compare Am 4:6-11), [Maurer]. Rather, war (Nu 21:28), namely, Tiglath-pileser [Grotius]. devoured the ... deep--that is, a great part of Israel, whom he carried away. Waters are the symbol for many people (Re 17:15). did eat up a part--namely, all the land (compare Am 4:7) of Israel east of Jordan (1Ch 5:26; Is 9:1). This was a worse judgment than the previous one: the locusts ate up the grass: the fire not only affects the surface of the ground, but burns up the very roots and reaches even to the deep.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 4 The Lord God called to contend by fire - Permitted war, both civil and foreign, to harass the land, after the death of Jeroboam the second. These wars would have totally destroyed it, had not the prophet interceded. It devoured the great deep, and did eat up a part - We are here to understand the partially destructive wars which afterwards took place; for the Lord causes all these things to pass before the eyes of Amos in the vision of prophecy; and intimates that, at the intercession of his prophets, total ruin should be prevented.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Amos 7:1-9

God bears long, but he will not bear always with a provoking people. The remembrance of the mercies we formerly received, like the produce of the earth of the former growth, should make us submissive to the will of God, when we meet with disappointments in the latter growth. The Lord has many ways of humbling a sinful nation. Whatever trouble we are under, we should be most earnest with God for the forgiveness of…

Read the full comment on Amos 7:1-9 →

Amos 7:4 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

כֹּ֤הkohthusH3541
הִרְאַ֙נִי֙hir.'A.nihe showed meH7200
אֲדֹנָ֣י'a.do.Nai[the] LordH136
יְהוִ֔הYah.wehYahwehH3069
וְהִנֵּ֥הve.hi.Nehand there!H2009
קֹרֵ֛אko.Re'[was] callingH7121
לָרִ֥בla.Rivfor conducting a caseH7378
בָּאֵ֖שׁba.'Eshby <the> fireH784
אֲדֹנָ֣י'a.do.Nai[the] LordH136
יְהוִ֑הYah.wehYahwehH3069
וַתֹּ֙אכַל֙va.To.khaland it consumedH398
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
תְּה֣וֹםte.Hom[the] deepH8415
רַבָּ֔הra.BahgreatH7227
וְאָכְלָ֖הve.'a.khe.Lahand it consumedH398
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הַחֵֽלֶק\׃ha.Che.lekthe portion of landH2506

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Amos 7:4

  • Amos 7:1

    Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me; and, behold, he formed grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, it was the latter growth after the king’s mowings.

  • Isaiah 66:15-16

    For, behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by his sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the slain of the Lord shall be many.

  • Amos 4:11

    I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.

  • Amos 7:7

    Thus he shewed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand.

  • Exodus 9:23-24

    And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt. So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.

  • Revelation 4:1

    After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

  • Hebrews 1:7

    And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.

  • Joel 2:30

    And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.

  • Deuteronomy 32:22

    For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.

  • Jeremiah 21:12

    O house of David, thus saith the Lord; Execute judgment in the morning, and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go out like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

  • Leviticus 10:2

    And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord.

  • Nahum 1:6

    Who can stand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
shewed.
1,7; Re 4:1
called.This is supposed to denote the invasion of Tiglathpileser, which threatened entire destruction.
1:4,7; 4:11; 5:6; Ex 9:23,24; Le 10:2; Nu 16:35; Isa 27:4; 66:15,16
Jer 4:4; 21:12; Joe 2:30; Mic 1:4; Na 1:6; Heb 1:7

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Amos 7:3

    The Lord repented for this: It shall not be, saith the Lord.

  • Amos 7:4

    Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me: and, behold, the Lord God called to contend by fire, and it devoured the great deep, and did eat up a part.

  • Amos 7:5

    Then said I, O Lord God, cease, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small.

Read all of Amos 7

Amos 7:4 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		El Señor Jehová me mostró así: y he aquí, llamaba para juzgar por fuego el Señor Jehová; y consumió un gran abismo, y consumió una parte de la tierra.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Ainsi m’a fait voir le Seigneur, l’ Éternel; et voici, le Seigneur, l’ Éternel, appela pour juger par le feu; et il dévora le grand abîme, et il dévora l’héritage.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Also ließ mich der Herr, Jehova, sehen: Siehe, der Herr, Jehova rief, um mit Feuer zu richten und es fraß die große Flut und fraß das Erbteil.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Hæc ostendit mihi Dominus Deus: et ecce vocabat judicium ad ignem Dominus Deus; et devoravit abyssum multam, et comedit simul partem.